Monday, November 10, 2008

OK - so the election didn't quite go my way. I don't mind admitting live online - that I am an avid Labour supporter. As has been said many times in the lead up to and post elections, National and Labour have come together in many of their ideas and policies. As the opposition party, National fought many of Labours policies. However during the events leading up to the election it amazed us all how J.Keys of National described much of those same policies as ones that made sense for New Zealand - like Kiwibank, Free ECE, not fighting in Iraq, and so on.

Keys' support for many of the popular Labour initiatives was probably concerning for many supporters to Nationals right - those that want more means testing, more user pays, lowering taxes for the wealthy. Those far enough to the right seemed to have moved over and voted for the ACT party. And those to the left who may have just wanted a change seemed to have been fooled into believing that National is a 'Centre' party close to the Left now - with leftist ideas, policies and practices. BUT this is not so! Because fundamentally Nationals philosophies still underpin its direction. And this was made very evident in John Key's acceptance speech. "What will determine our success is the unity of purpose. A willingness to work together, while recognising that our collective success rests on the success of individuals"

And so it is - National supports the individual. If John Key can rise up from state housing to Prime Minister of New Zealand and help to make things better - then so can you!! He does go on to say that "We need everyone working together because we need everybody to be pulling in the same direction - and if we do that then we will make NZ prosperous as we all know we can be." And I say - prosperous for whom? Such a veiw - that the individual can make it better for the collective - denies the innate selfishness of humankind... those that wanted lower taxes because they didn't want to help those who will never know what prosperous feels like.

To suggest that EVERYONE can reach their financial goals (and therefor some semblance of a decent standard of living) - denies those who work for the less fortunate for next to nothing, denies those who for reasons beyond their control they have to stay at home with no income to support children who don't fit into the mainstream of education, or the mainstream of anything, denies those who for reason's beyond their control will never fit into mainstream.

To say - to work together as individuals for collective success - is an anomaly. And I hope that National keeps to its word about many of the policies so supported by the collective for so long. And I would prefer to hear Key say "lets work together as a collective for the success of all and for the individual"

However there has been a vote for change.

Change is what New Zealand voted for.But we do not yet know what that change will bring - and for whom!

(More on NZ politics and how it relates to ICT in Early Childhood later.)

Beverly Kaye

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This blog focuses on issues relating to children and teachers using ICT in education. I am a teacher at Manaia Kindergarten. We are part of the New Zealand Ministry of Education's CORE Education ECE ICT Professional Learning Programme. As a result of this programme I am specifically interested in the use of Information and Communication Technology to enhance children's learning and development. Our research question for the project focuses on building links between the Kindergarten and our wider community and how theses links benefit children. This blog is about my personal professional reflections and broader topics will be investigated from time to time as I advocate for the well being and empowerment of all children, and the upskilling of teachers in the implementation of ICT in education.